Jeanie W. Tufts (1884-1975) was born in Macon, Georgia, to John W. Wilcox, Sr. and Anna G. Wilcox. Jeanie had seven siblings: Amelia Wilcox, Louise Clifford Wilcox, Arthur D. Wilcox, Marie Wilcox, John W. Wilcox, Jr., Louis Bee Wilcox, and Julia Holmes Wilcox. John Wilcox, Sr. was a Captain on General John Dearing's staff in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Jeanie's brothers John, Jr. and Louis also grew up to have notable careers. John was as a rear admiral in the United States Navy, serving in both World War I and World War II. Louis was an engineer who worked on the construction of the Panama Canal, where he lost a leg in an explosion.

Jeanie married Arthur Tufts, Sr. in 1910 and the couple had four children: Anna, who died in infancy; Arthur Tufts, Jr.; Rutledge Tufts; and John Tufts. Arthur Tufts, Sr. was a contractor and worked on the building of the original Emory University campus in Atlanta, Georgia. Arthur died of influenza on February 23, 1920. The family home, Woodland, is now part of Emory's campus and is known as Tufts House.

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of the family papers of Jeanie and Arthur Tufts from 1838-1970, and primarily includes correspondence and photographs of the Wilcox family. Correspondence predominantly contains letters from John W. Wilcox, Sr. to his wife Anna. Also present are letters from John W. Wilcox, Jr. to both his mother, Anna, and his sister, Louise Clifford Wilcox, as well as multiple letters to Anna from her other children. Other letters are written to Jeanie Tufts from various family members. Photographs include two albums of the Tufts family, which contain photographs of Arthur, Jeanie, and the Tufts children as well as of Woodland. There are also numerous photographs of the construction of the Panama Canal from 1910-1913. Other papers include a diary of Jeanie's grandfather, Arthur Holmes; political cartoons drawn by John W. Wilcox, Sr. during and after the Civil War; a scrapbook created by Jeanie from 1930-1970; as well as John W. Wilcox, Jr.'s wedding invitation, and a financial agreement relating to an unidentified business venture of Arthur Tufts, Sr.